Home Guard. The first units was created in September 1917 and would grow to strength of 64 companies. Following the end of the war, the Home Guard was demobilized, and its officers were ordered to turn in all weapons and equipment under General Orders Number 17, dated December 2, 1920. World War II After the attack on Pearl Harbor and entry of the United States into World War II, individual states began raising military forces in an effort to ensure homeland security while the National Guard was deployed. Arkansas activated the Guard when Hendrix Lackey, a veteran of World War I, was appointed commander of the Arkansas State Guard on January 12, 1942. Duties During the war, the Arkansas State Guard was called into service on several occasions, primarily for protection of infrastructure against saboteurs, disaster recovery, and aiding in searches for missing persons. The missions assigned to the Guard included: guarding dams near Hot Springs against sabotage directing and guarding property in the aftermath tornadoes in Berryville (November 1–3, 1942), Camden in April 1944 and in Johnson County in April 1945 numerous search-and-rescue operations including: looking for a missing child in Searcy County in November 1943; a man who went missing near Malvern in December 1943; a woman missing in woman in Devil’s Den State Park in July 1944. One of the largest deployments occurred after a flood along the Arkansas river in May 1943. For nearly three weeks, roughly 450 Guardsmen "patrolled levees, assisted in evacuation of flooded areas, stood guard duty, repaired waterlines, and crewed boats on the river" after the flood. The State Guard was again called on to perform similar duties during flooding on the Arkansas and Ouachita rivers in April 1945. Disbandment The State Guard was disbanded on December 16, 1946, after the Arkansas National Guard was returned to state control. Legal status State defense forces are permitted in all the states and territories which make up the United States. Currently, 22 states and the territory of Puerto Rico maintain active state defense forces. Arkansas law also permits the deployment of a state defense force by the Governor of Arkansas under § 12-61-301. The State Guard was originally authorized by Act 85 of 1929 of the Arkansas General Assembly, which allowed for the governor to call the guard into service when seventy-five percent of the Arkansas National Guard was federally deployed. However, in 1989,